Opportunities for Study

Tennessee is home to almost 50 colleges and universities, plus 13 public community colleges. The University of Tennessee [1], with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Martin, is the largest. Other public colleges and universities include East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee State University in Nashville, and the University of Memphis.

Private colleges include the historically black Fisk University in Nashville [2] and Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis; the University of the South at Sewanee, which is affiliated with the Episcopal Church; Memphis College of Art and Rhodes College in Memphis; and Vanderbilt University [3] in Nashville. Each of these, plus the 31 other private institutions of higher learning, offer myriad short- and long-term education programs in fields as various as religious studies and medicine.

Several institutions of note offer workshops in arts and crafts. The Appalachian Center for Craft (Smithville, 931/372-3051, www.tntech.edu/craftcenter [4]) is an affiliate of Tennessee Tech University and specializes in instruction in decorative arts and crafts. Full-time students can pursue a bachelor’s degree in fine arts or a certificate in clay, fiber, glass, metal, or woodwork. The center also offers more than 100 different workshops each year. The school is set in scenic countryside on the Cumberland Plateau.

Perhaps one of the best-known craft schools in the entire United States, Gatlinburg’s Arrowmont [5] (865/436-5860, www.arrowmont.org [6]) offers dozens of short courses and weekend workshops annually. Arrowmont began as a settlement school for mountain folks, but today it is a center that combines traditional crafts with modern techniques and themes.